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Discover new ways to stretch your imagination, be introduced to new artists, their exhibits, and books to read about them. Expect to excite your mind. Comments are very welcome! -- Rosemary Carstens

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Earth, Wind, and Fire . . . Glass Alliance – New Mexico

The creation of beautiful art in the medium of glass is one of the most difficult challenges an artist can aspire to. It is demanding, filled with trial and error, and usually involves a support team. But the results can lift the heart, illuminate a concept, and provide reflection, refraction, and color in a way no other medium does.

The Glass Alliance – New Mexico, founded by Betsy Ehrenberg, is a regional chapter of Art Alliance for Contemporary Glass. Its mission is to gather collectors, artists, gallery owners, and the general public in a coordinated venue to visit artists’ studios, tour galleries, view private collections, and learn about the medium through lectures and demonstrations from both New Mexico master artists and well-known masters from around the United States.

Member artists range from the already established to those just emerging in the field. This post highlights the imaginative, impressive work of three women members:Delinda VanneBrightyn, Elodie Holmes, and Lucy Lyon.

DELINDA VANNEBRIGHTYN creates contemporary figurative and abstract pieces such as “Revealed 2,” from her Consciousness series (see image 1). She works in kiln-cast glass and bronze in her studios in Taos and, as she says, “I aspire to create works that speak of grace and clarity, inspiring deep reflection into the root and beauty of the human spirit.”

ELODIE HOLMES is no novice to the medium, having been blowing glass in Santa Fe for some 25 years. Her pieces are described as events “frozen in time.” As can be seen in the pieces to the left, each incorporates a luminous blending of color, transparency, and radiance (see image 2). Her studio/gallery, Liquid Light Glass, is located in the Baca Street Art District.

LUCY LYON is the mistress of figurative, gestural cast-glass pieces that capture the beauty and line of the most essential elements of the human form (see image 3). Each piece suggests a narrative, a story behind the glass, or, as the artist might express it, “a state of mind.” Lucy lives and works in Jaconita and her work is nationally known.

These three accomplished artists are only a small sampling of the talent and accomplishments to be found among Glass Alliance – New Mexico’s members. Check out their website, surf around to see the work of other artists, and DO sign up for upcoming events. The alliance will be an active participant in SOFA – Santa Fe to be held June 11–14, 2009.

5 comments:

Spectacular work, particularly the human torsos. I go back and forth on glass work, some like Dale Chihuly I find sometimes fun but mostly overrated. The most memorable exhibit of glasswork I ever saw was a massive collection of Tiffany's work at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago many years ago. It included his huge glass doors that if I remember correctly were on a theme of Dante or the afterlife, but perhaps they were a landscape, I wish I could remember. They were unbelievably colorful and in some places as thick as 8", made of layer upon layer of colors, which was an entirely new way to think about glass. I struck out with Google trying to find a picture of them, I did find a book about the exhibit at Amazon, http://www.amazon.com/dp/0914091182/

Glass work is truly an art form that is spectacular. I wish I saw more glass work in the Boulder/Denver area museums and shows. Do you know of any place locally (Boulder/Denver) that showcases glass works?

Lara: Glass art is on display at a number of Colorado galleries. One that particularly comes to mind and that I know features some of Glass Alliance - New Mexico's artists is Pismo Gallery in Denver. They have, I believe, galleries in Aspen and Vail as well. It's a great place to familiarize yourself with some of the finest in the medium.

Love art glass -- from antique to contemporary. tho' I don't own all that much of it. I too stop in at one of Colorado's Pismo galleries (Cherry Creek North, Aspen, Beaver Creek) when I'm in the neighborhood. IMHO, what Chihuly and is acolytes have done is to bring attention to the medium. Wish I were going to be in Santa Fe in midJune.

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ABOUT THE EDITOR: Rosemary Carstens is a freelance writer, author, and publication consultant living in Longmont, Colorado. She is the author of DREAMRIDER: Roadmap to an Adventurous Life (Black Lightning Press 2003) and co-author of SUSTAINING THOUGHT: Thirty Years of Cookery at the School of American Research (2007). She is available for speaking engagements and workshops on the topics presented here and more. When not in the comma factory, she loves to ride the Rockies on her motorcycle, the Road Goddess. More information is available at
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